The Three Wise Men
by Zay-el
Summary: A little snippet about a fun little afternoon 'conference' that took place in Episode 6 of Season 2. Some spoilers for S2.


Hello!

I've been a Wakfu fan for a while now, but only now did I feel like actually contributing to the fandom somewhat. So here it is, a bit of an elaboration of what happened in the Quilby episode, before Amalia rudely interrupted their fun. I was genuinely surprised and delighted by that scene. It had no foreshadowing, no deep dialogue, just a joke basically, yet to me it was a very nice idea, that even with the huge gap in class, these three could still sit down next to each other, fill their stomachs and just simply enjoy life.

Please excuse me if I've made any glaring errors I might have skipped over, even after several re-reads. I might have a good grasp of it, but English isn't really my main language, so I still mess up every now and then. With that say, please enjoy and if possible, review!

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Three Wise Men<strong>_

One may find it rather hard to describe the feeling of camping in the woods of the Sadida Kingdom. Harmony would probably be one of those, though usually for those who are already leisured about life. Exciting, the other end of that spectrum would also have struck a chord as terribly overrated. There was nothing overly thrilling about a forest, regardless how big it was, or how different their inhabitants were, than those of Bonta, for instance.

The woods of the kingdom were simple and tranquil, by all standards. To many it was more of an obstacle to pass through, or a station for a longer travel, but rarely did anyone ever decide to permanently stay. This place had little of the bright and bustling nature of Bonta, nor the gloomy air of danger Brakmar had seeping from itself.

The three men sitting around the clearing had little intention of leaving for now though. They each had been here for a shorter or longer while, but for the time being, saw it fit to stay. One of them had come in the search of fabulous riches, all the while aiding the group of young adventurers he joined up with, several months ago. The second one also had a treasure to be found, albeit a very different kind; a young son of his. On the other hand, the third...well...it's rather difficult to so much as imagine one leaving a kingdom that's under their rule.

"No, no, you're doing it all wrong." Ruel Stroud, possibly one of the greediest Enutrofs in the World of Twelve, sighed in utter disbelief. He reached into his trusty, endless Havresac, producing a short list he'd compiled; a kind of recollection of the most important things he'd learned, during his long years of traveling.

"Ham first, lettuce after! The lettuce needs to be on a juicy slice of ham, otherwise the balance will tip." he instructed, before remembering protocol. "Your majesty."

"Don't listen to the old man. Eat it however you like it, I can tell you'd eat them without the bread even." the burly man by the name of Alibert chuckled, his huge bushy mustache trembling from it. By birthright he was also an Enutrof, but noticeably different from the frail-looking grandpa next to him.

"I shall. I'm a king after all, I'm not to be ordered around!" the venerable King Sheran Sharm, high ruler of the Sadida Kingdom proclaimed, nonetheless carefully placing the slice of pork on top of the ham.

One would assume the meeting of these three would form the basis of a joke, but it had been far more simple than that. Sadida people were very close to nature, right to the core, to be precise. As such, their cuisine also tried to incorporate mostly plant-based ingredients, from fruits, through vegetables, all the way to simple, literal grass.

Naturally, for someone who's the proprietor of an moderately successful inn, plants just didn't quite do it. Sure, they were nice as companions to meals, but he always preferred to have them subjugated to juicy meat instead. Knowing this beforehand however, he had made sure to bring lots of meat from his home village of Emelka and upon seeing the bright weather, decided to have today's meal outdoors.

As fate would have it, Ruel passed through the clearing at around that time and being one who'd never turn down a free meal, even if it hadn't been offered, he humbled Alibert with his delightful presence. The innkeeper was hardly annoyed though, having gotten used to this particular trait of the Enutrof decades ago. He more than welcomed him for some food.

Then came the more awkward part of the meal, wherein the great King Sheran Sharm himself had stumbled upon them, allegedly checking on the guards. Two sandwiches and a few beers in though, he confessed that it was simply the scent of the food had brought him to them. He did remark once or twice that he shouldn't allow them, but these miffed protests gradually died down. They had far better things to discuss, anyway.

"-Sram?" Ruel spoke, eying the other two with a slight grin on his face. Breadcrumbs stained his white beard, but he didn't seem to care as of yet.

"Too boney." Alibert grunted, taking another sip of his beer. "For me, anyway. I'd always be afraid I'd break her to pieces just by holding her too tightly." he mused, earning a laugh from his friend, while the Sadida king just nod in agreement.

"Okay then, how 'bout Sacriers then? Pretty little things, beautiful curves, luscious lips." the old Enutrof listed, the mental image of a Sacrier woman winking callously in their minds.

The question floated in the air for a few seconds, all three of them contemplating the idea. All three of them sighed mere moments later though, forsaking the idea. While Sacrier women were indeed a splendid sight to look at, there was always that uncomfortable rumor about how they're unnaturally attracted to bloodshed. Sure, being wild wasn't a bad thing, but there were limits and even if only half the things they've heard were true, it still put them off.

"Let's have an obvious one." Alibert took over the game of choices, pouring a fresh round of beer for all three of them. Even the king was taking a liking towards the brew he had, even though it was barely even mediocre. "Eniripsa? In my youth especially, they had always been quite difficult to resist. Whenever they decided to...'brush up' some of my skills, they gave my recovery a jump-start, too."

"If I hadn't known better by now, I'd still say Yugo was the result of one of these healing sessions." Ruel remarked with a sly smirk turning towards the Sadida. "What about you? Don't tell me you never get the urge to have your beard tickled by a perky bosom!" he chuckled, only to see Alibert giving him a very unimpressed look.

It took a moment or two for the couple of coins in his head to shine, making him wish he could bite his tongue down, once he'd realized what he had said. "Err...sorry." he mumbled, hoping to Enutrof he wouldn't end up in the dungeons again.

"No harm done." King Sheran Sharm could merely laugh at his terror, far too relaxed to be offended by his words. The past belonged in the past, after all. "If I was still interested and hadn't had the kind of wife I did, even I might have felt like lying down for a treatment every now and then."

He raised his own mug, the other two following suit, clanging them together before downing the rest of the bubbly liquid. He gazed thoughtfully into the bottom for a second, before speaking up again.

"Amalia makes sure to remind me-" a brief burp interrupted his words. "-of her. She had the same spirit, the same exact fiery temper that brought me to her mother in the first place."

"Glutton for punishment, are you?" Ruel snickered, finding it an older Amalia talking down the king a rather amusing mental image.

"Not as much as you apparently, old Enutrof." the Sadida raised a brow at the remark and smirked under his enormous green beard. "My little flower is quite a handful indeed. Though, to be honest, she's gotten better since her adventures with your son."

"Make no mistake, she's no less authoritative nor impatient, but now she's..." the king paused for a moment, having difficulty finding words after the umpteenth beer. He could tolerate alcohol quite well, but it did get in his head after a while.

"Motivated! Yes, that's it, motivated!" he chuckled, snapping his fingers. "Even with Evangelyne being there for her, she's never really did anything from heart, rather just to pass the time, or short-lasting amusement. I think having a definite goal ahead of her helped her focus. I have your son to thank for that."

"You can tell him if you want to. He'll feel very proud of himself." Alibert mused, a warm smile forming on his face. He wasn't sure how he should feel about how important his son had become, not to mention the dragon brother he was revealed to have, but it was always a joy to his heart to know so many people thought highly of him. "He's a good kid. I'm a little sad he had to see and experience so much as of late...some even adults would have difficulty coping with. Still, he's handled them very nicely. I couldn't be any more proud of him."

"Aye, I can agree to that." Ruel spoke up again, passing a slice of ham over to his little Phorror, who happily gobbled it down right away. "The kid's alright. He's nice to me, knows how to treat his elders!" he raised his index finger, emphasizing his words. "If he ever needs to travel again, he can count on my shovel!"

"But not your money, I'm sure of that." his old friend remarked, pointing at the Havresac.

"Let's not get carried away, shall we?" the Enutrof protested, grabbing hold of it protectively.

"Either way, he and Master Adamaï forever honored guests in my court." the Sadida king stated, cutting off Ruel's panicked reaction. "I say that as king. As a father, I also owe him and his friends for safeguarding Amalia. With that said, if I ever see him a little closer to her than what I deem acceptable, I will stuff him in his own hat and send him back to you. Just as a friendly gesture though, of course." he added, taking another long gulp of beer.

"He's crafty enough for me not to worry about that." Alibert chuckled, his own hat bobbing up and down to the motion.

"I shouldn't even say anything then." Ruel added with a wide smirk, fueling a deep and dark suspicion in King Sheran Sharm. The Sadida quickly made a mental note to look out for that from now on, even though the rational part of his mind firmly protested against believing so much as a question of the old Enutrof.

"Do not, if you value freedom." he warned, looking rather grumpy until Alibert passed him another sandwich, chock-full of meat. He glanced at it a few times, before snatching it from the innkeeper's hands, his mouth watering. Healthy or not, nothing could replace this.

"It's a good thing Sadlygrove is back, too." Alibert spoke up again, to which Ruel merely groaned, his eyes drifting upwards.

"I just wish his dance with death gave him a little more wisdom...but apparently Iop still doesn't favor brainpower." the old Enutrof sighed, although his friend could easily tell he was just as happy as the rest of them. "Not to mention they've been getting way too friendly with Evangelyne. Lovey stuff destroys unit cohesion, mark my words! Can you even imagine the expenses we'll have, if they decide to get hitched while traveling?"

"I don't think you'd be the only one paying for that." the king mused. "You'll be surprised, but Armand actually put aside a couple of Kamas, in case he lost to the Iop knight."

Ruel's expression could only be described as total and utter disbelief, along with massive shock. "Armand? Are we talking about the same Armand?" he asked to make sure. Last time the two interacted, it ended with a very nasty loss of control for Sadlygrove.

"He's been taught to face even defeat honorably." the Sadida explained, though Ruel couldn't help but tilt his head to that. "That, and I've told him that if he ever jumps into a fight like that again, I'll have him shave." he winced to the idea of that, giving the others a very good idea of how bad this might be. It didn't take long for the expression on his face to soften up again. "He can still learn though. He's hotheaded, but he's of good material. He'll make a good heir one day."

"We're all fade out, eventually." Ruel mused, nodding to his words and being uncharacteristically thoughtful for once. Even Alibert knew this was a rare occasion, a fleeting moment where his old friend was the most transparent, dropping the usual masks and charades. "I'm happy I can accompany these kids, but a couple more years and they'll stand on their own. The future is theirs."

"Such wise words, old friend." Alibert commended his wisdom. "Yugo's still young, but there's so much potential in him. I guided him all these years, but already he's starting to learn how to stand high and proud on his own two feet. The rest will soon follow suit."

"True. We can only guide them along the way." King Sheran Sharm picked at his beard, before grabbing his mug once more. "We still have a couple more years ahead of us though. A toast to the children, to the future generation of heroes, kings, thieves, vagrants, fools and of course, women." he chuckled, holding his mug up high.

The two Enutrofs smirked and raised their own mugs, the noise of a loud clang filling the clearing once more. The Sadida's words were humble and full of praise, a promise of goodwill to those that would come after them, from this point on. They could all drink to that.


End file.
